Wednesday, March 07, 2007

What you are looking at is a photo of what used to be the Graving Dock at the Todd Shipyard where the new Ikea is rising. The photo was sent to us by Chris Curen, a GL reader. He wrote:

You can see the fill comes in from the barge at right on a conveyor belt. This is actually in keeping with EPA mandates (clean fill). It is then graded into the dock. It is difficult to tell from the vantage point of the photo, but the grading slopes downward as one heads towards the bulkheads. Thus, while the photo seems to show mostly an empty bottom, in fact heavy machinary can roll in and out of the graving dock on a slope from the Beard St. end. In short, the near end of the dock, which is difficult to photograph from my place - is completely full, while the visible end of the graving dock is only about 1/4 full.

Working waterfront advocates had lobbied for saving the Graving Dock (which will be paved over so Ikea can use it for parking) and the Municipal Art Society had sued to stop Ikea from filling the dock, which would seem to have been rendered a moot point. A couple of other Ikea construction photos below.

(If you notice something going on in your neighborhood, GL is all ears. We invite your emails at gowanuslounge (at) gmail (dot) com.)